Strenuously in Search
It was only a short hike to this lovely spot.
Rocky Mountain National Park, September 2024
“The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him…”
—Daniel J. Boorstin
No doubt about it, I’m a traveler. I prefer to go with a friend, but I’ll go by myself if no one is free to join me. And there are special joys to traveling alone, although age is beginning to lessen my enthusiasm for leaving my cozy home where everything is designed to accommodate my individual preferences. As with other trade-offs in life, the risk-to-benefit ratio of traveling alone is usually favorable enough to induce me to set out on yet another adventure.
I’ve never liked taking tours of any kind. I’ve tried them, but they are far too one-size-fits-all for me. And when I read this quote, I realized another reason I don’t like tours. They are a form of entertainment, where everything is pre-packaged in advance to provide the traveler with a series of “sights” that are often rightly famous. But there is little of exploration or discovery about a pre-planned tour.
Granted, I enjoy cruising, because I like having no worries about finding restaurants or hotels. But still, my purpose on a cruise is either to relax in a different climate, or to explore the ports. I almost never go to any of the shows or other entertainments. I’d far rather sit on the verandah and gaze out at the sea (or, okay, go get some ice cream or another cup of tea).
But by far, my most memorable travels have been treks of discovery, where I met people, saw new places, and had all sorts of interesting experiences. For me, travel has never been about entertainment. There is nothing passive about the way I travel, even when I’m on a plane or a train or a bus. I’m always taking it all in, making mental or physical notes, and often taking pictures to go with those notes.
Sometimes people ask me why I chose to continue my schooling at Oxford. It’s because I love the combination of stimulating classes and assignments in a setting that is rich with undiscovered paths and many centuries of history still evident, carefully preserved. And of course, those English breakfasts and teas are famous for a reason. But also, it’s a great setting in which to meet people of all ages from all over the world. At school I am part of a group where I belong, yet am undeniably different from everyone else. I’m a perennial newcomer, a traveler, an explorer, no matter how familiar I have grown with parts of London or England over the years.
I’m not sure how much longer I’ll manage to travel extensively in person, but even if I grow too old to go comfortably on foot, my mind will always go “strenuously in search” through books, art, music and conversation. How about you? Do you prefer being a traveler, or a tourist?
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Defeat Despair 
Good morning, Julia! I’m a traveler, for sure!
At one time, it was less expensive to plan one’s own trips, but now there are some cheap packages one can find. Still, I think it’s more fun to interact with the locals than with a flock of people who look and talk like I do.
Susan, I have recognized you as a fellow traveler from the first moment you arrived at my doorstep in Alexandria, bearing a lovely pumpkin as a fall gift. You definitely have the explorer’s spirit!
Hi Julia,
I’m a traveler, at heart! In recent years, however, I’ve barely been a tourist. Another friend recently took a trip to the Florida keys. (Bill Pike, from Richmond). He posted detailed reports on many of the days there. His posts were filled with humor, and such striking detail that I felt like I was there with the group. As much as I’d like to venture off and participate, I can’t. Until then, I’m happy to live vicariously through the storytelling of my traveling friends! Travel on!
Chris, your willingness to share in your friend’s adventures are a gift to him as well as to yourself. It’s so much more fun to share our discoveries with people who appreciate them. I hope you will be able to travel again someday, but until then, I’m thankful (as I know you are too) that we have so many ways to travel vicariously. The online photos and videos of far-flung places are stunning, and the real-life experiences of friends and good writers can take us there in our imagination. Perhaps someday in the not-too-distant future, we’ll have virtual reality experiences that can take us there in three dimensions!
Good question … and I think that both my husband and I are travelers. One of the reasons we enjoyed train travel so much was the dining :o) We were forever sharing tables with interesting people – a mystery writer, a young soldier from Israel recently discharged and traveling the world, engineers, a botanist. Then there was the food at our destinations. We looked for places where the locals ate, checking to see if it was a popular place and were never disappointed (have we just been lucky?). Hoping we can get back to adventuring again soon.
WOW, this sounds wonderful! We took the Coast Starlight (southern California to Seattle) and splurged on a family compartment many years ago, and I remember the food as being really good. It was an adventure, too, as we were awakened during the night at Klamath Falls, Oregon, due to a derailed car ahead of us. I think it’s always fun to search out where the locals go. They always know best! Thanks for adding your comment here, sorry it took so long for me to get to it…I was at sea! (literally)
/ I agree about scheduled tours. I am trying to send a good comment, but won’t be accepted.
Cliff shiblom Bartlesville, OK
Cliff, I’ve had many people with this same problem, and many times their comment actually did go through. It appears your comment did get through (please see my response to it). I think what happens is that WordPress “times out” with an error response while the comment is in queue and it eventually comes through. One of many aggravations of dealing with WordPress. Their “helpful” updates and changes over the years have been SO annoying, and I often think of stopping the blog rather than re-learning how to work the software. If I ever do decide to quit this blog, it will be because of WordPress getting to be more trouble than they are worth. But for now, I continue. Sorry for the frustration with your comment; hopefully the one that came through is what you wanted to send.
My wife, Donna, and I have been following Defeat Despair prior to November 2012. We saw your piece in Upper Room, if I remember accurately. I have rarely commented, but read every day along with Upper Room. We have even shared with many of our friends. Today I needed to thank you for returning to writing new ones and for the many previous ones. You may not know that our prayers have been with you for all these years, but they have.
We live in Bartlesville, Oklahoma but found that we have been to many places you have written about – Sanibel Island, many places along the Atlantic coast, Canada and Colorado mountains where we have a cabin, Alaska, Australia, New Zealand. Your pictures have been beautiful. I agree with you about staged tours. We have not been on many tours but prefer our selections like a trip on the Alaska Ferry System, stopping and finding things of our interest and then moving on along at our own pace on the ferry.
Thank you for sharing your delights and your sorrows. God bless you and yours.
Cliff and Donna Shiblom
Cliff, thank you so much for these encouraging words. So many of my favorite longtime readers came to me from Upper Room, where I used to publish the occasional piece. Maybe I’ll go back to that one day! The blog took on a life of its own and choked out all my other writing, but working for a diploma at Oxford has taken me back to other types of writing and FORCED me to try other forms. I so appreciate your continued presence here, and especially your prayers. I do take great comfort in all the prayers of many of the readers here, and I can see (and feel) their influence in keeping me going through what has been a far more difficult decade than I could ever have imagined. So even though I might not have specifically known of your prayers, I have known in a general way that the spiritual power of many prayers has kept both Matthew and me going. Looking back it becomes even more obvious how God has carried us through the times of crisis.
I’m so happy that you have been able to see many of these amazing places. I have never yet been to New Zealand, but hope someday to go. I have a trip to Australia booked to go there with a friend early next year. It will be my very first time to travel past Hawaii in the Pacific region. As with all my travels, I book it knowing I might need to cancel it, and such cancellations have happened far too many times, but I try to look at this as another manifestation of providence.
Please give Donna my thanks also, for being fellow-travelers not only on the road, but in life and at this blog! I am grateful for the blessing of your presence here, so thankful you have been with me.